Vancouver Sun Run to donate $10 per late entry for Boston Marathon victims

Tiffany Crawford, Vancouver Sun04.17.2013

The Vancouver Sun Run will donate $10 from every late entry to Sunday’s race to help victims and their families after the bombings at the Boston Marathon left three people dead and more than 170 injured.RICHARD LAM
/ PNG

Here is a handout photo of Stan and Sally Wong from Vancouver a day before the Boston Marathon. Sally was running toward the finish line at the precise time and location of the first bomb.Vancouver Sun
/ Handout

Elite Boston Marathon runner Rob Watson arrives safely back in Vancouver on April, 16, 2013. Watson finished 11th in the Boston Marathon and was at one point leading the race.Mark van Manen
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A runner sits near Kenmore Square after two bombs exploded during the 117th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15, 2013 in Boston, Mass. Two people are confirmed dead and dozens injured after two initial explosions went off near the finish line to the marathon.Alex Trautwig
/ Getty Images

An unidentified Boston Marathon runner leaves the course crying near Copley Square following an explosion in Boston Monday, April 15, 2013.uncredited
/ PNG

A runner reacts near Kenmore Square after two bombs exploded during the 117th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013 in Boston, Mass. Two people are confirmed dead after two explosions went off near the finish line to the marathon.Alex Trautwig
/ Getty Images

An unidentified Boston Marathon runner, centre, is reunited with loved ones following explosions at the Boston Marathon.Winslow Townson, The Associated Press
/ The Associated Press

A runner embraces another woman on the marathon route near Kenmore Square after two bombs exploded during the 117th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15, 2013 in Boston, Mass. Two people are confirmed dead after two explosions went off near the finish line to the marathon.Alex Trautwig
/ Getty Images

Runner John Ounao cries after he finds friends after several explosions rocked the finish of the Boston Marathon on Monday. More than 2,000 Canadians, including 232 from B.C. were registered in the event.John Mottern, AFP, Getty Images
/ Vancouver Sun; With Files From Kevin Griffin And Lori Culbert, Vancouver Sun, And Canadian Press

People react as an explosion goes off near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon in Boston, Monday, April 15, 2013. Two explosions went off at the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday, sending authorities out on the course to carry off the injured while the stragglers were rerouted away from the smoking site of the blasts.David L Ryan
/ AP Photo/The Boston Globe

In this image from video provided by WBZ TV, spectators and runners run from what was described as twin explosions that shook the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday.Wbz Tv, The Associated Press
/ The Associated Press

Rescue personnel aid injured people near the finish line of the Boston Marathon following Monday's bomb explosions. Two explosions shattered the euphoria of the marathon finish line, sending authorities out on the course to carry off the injured while the stragglers were rerouted away from the smoking site of the blasts.Stuart Cahill, The Boston Herald, The Associated Press
/ Vancouver Sun

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VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Sun Run will donate $10 from every late entry for Sunday's race to help victims of the bombings at the Boston Marathon.

Online registration closed at midnight on Tuesday for Canada's largest 10-kilometre run, but organizers say people who want to participate can still sign up in person at BC Place beginning at 4 p.m. Thursday.

The fee for those who register late goes up by $10 to $60, but the plan is to donate that $10 from every late entry to the Boston bombing victims, said Jamie Pitblado, vice-president of promotions for The Vancouver Sun and The Province.

He said the money would go to One Fund Boston, an official charity that's collecting donations for the victims and their families.

If a surge in registration continues, Sun Run organizers could raise anywhere from $25,000 to $40,000.

Registration for The Sun Run spiked again on Tuesday after doubling on Monday from the previous year. Pitblado said 965 new participants signed up on Tuesday, compared with just over 500 on the same day last year. On Monday, 691 registered, compared with 343 the year previous.

As online registration closed at midnight, there were 46,048 participants.

"It was unbelievable," said Pitblado on Wednesday. "The trend continues, the swelling of support for those in Boston."

Runners will start the race Sunday morning with an official tribute to Boston, although Pitblado said organizers are still working out the details.

Yellow and blue are expected to colour the streets, as many participants don Boston's official hues to show support for the bombing victims.

Premier Christy Clark, who will run as part of a team on Sunday, plans to wear yellow and blue to honour the victims, said spokesman Sam Oliphant.

Explosive devices made from pressure cookers stuffed with nails and ball bearings killed three people and injured more than 160 people as runners were crossing the finish line Monday at the Boston Marathon.

The person or group responsible for the attack remained unknown Wednesday, as investigators faced the daunting task of combing through thousands of videos and photographs.

Also Wednesday, more Vancouverites returned home from Boston with horrific tales of narrow escape and aftershock, while others, such as Stan and Sally Wong, remained in the U.S., recovering from the ordeal.

The couple, speaking from Washington D.C. on Wednesday — amid heightened security after a suspicious letter laced with poison was sent to President Barack Obama — said they were still in shock.

Sally was running at the exact location where the first bomb exploded and said if she had been running on the other side of the road, she might have been badly injured or killed.

"Something just came exploding out of my left side, and I thought it was a restaurant explosion," she said.

When she heard the second explosion coming from where her husband Stan had been waiting on the sidelines, and had moments earlier high-fived her as she ran past, she began to panic. So she sprinted across the finish line and was one of the last runners they let through before they stopped everyone.

Sally was ushered through and found her bag with her cellphone. When Stan didn't pick up the first time, Sally said she almost burst into tears.

When she finally heard his voice she was relieved, as was Stan to know that his wife was not hurt in the blast.

"I was at a complete loss and worried about my wife," he said. "There was so much confusion. I kept thinking what are the odds of my wife running across at the exact time the bomb goes off. ... She was in shock, but she's really tough."

Stan said he had been waiting for his wife to pass at the same spot where the second bomb went off, but after she ran by he moved to go meet her at the finish line. He made it about 200 metres before the second bomb exploded.

"It was pandemonium. Everyone was screaming, kids were crying. I saw a woman covered in blood."

Stan said he took video of his wife running in the area where the second bomb exploded, but he handed it over to the FBI after investigators on Tuesday made pleas for the public to share any video or photographs from the site of the terror attacks.

SFU psychology professor Rachel Fouladi was only about 600 metres from the finish line when she was stopped after the second bomb exploded.

"In my mind I feel like I finished, even though I didn't," she said. "There are more important things in life, like family and friends and loved ones, and although this is something I wanted to do, it wasn't important."

Although Fouladi won't take part in the Sun Run on Sunday because of final exams, she said she would go for a run at SFU to show support and invite students to join.

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Vancouver Sun Run to donate $10 per late entry for Boston Marathon victims

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